Ears

[AmyMay]

What does everyone do to keep their dog’s ears in tip top condition? Flappy ears in particular ?

 

[Clodagh]

Following. I keep resisting Thornit as my old vet was so anti but I really am sorely tempted to give it a go.
One thing I do is leave them alone when possible, so the 4 of mine with no ear trouble I leave them be. The two with dirty ears I am ongoing with.

 

[Roxylola]

I've always given my dogs a quick swiz round with a cotton bud and never had issues. But if you've got a lot of dark wax you might find they've got mites. Get a smear of wax on a black or white background and leave it a minute, if there's mites you'll see them moving about, they're tiny but visible

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Try to leave them alone.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Thornit and more often, plain cotton wool swabbing. I think Goose is slightly allergic to chicken but he’s stopped scratching. We’re very keen on drying inside after swims.

 

[scats]

I clean them lightly every time they get groomed.

 

[druid]

Clean with trizaural once a week

 

[Bearsmum]

Keeping him (sprocker) on a simple raw diet avoiding anything with yeast - no treats, other than duck necks & chicken wings. Groomers every 6 weeks & they trim inside and outside the ears as well as giving them a wipe round so there's no thick fur harbouring damp or anything else around the opening & so far Freddie has had no problems at all since we've had him (3 years , & he's now approaching 10 )

 

[PapaverFollis]

Doing nothing at all has worked well for the Sprocker for 12 years. Henry had an itchy, sore ear not long after he arrived, I assume the stress of moving families let something take hold. I ordered some Stinky Stuff and had the vet incoming to see the horses l anyway so was all prepared to consult if necessary. I ended up wiping his ear with cold green tea while waiting for the Stinky Stuff and never actually needed to open the bottle when it arrived!

Since then we've gone back to doing nothing for all ears and so far so good.

My main issue is trying to keep the knots and tangles down! Honestly, Sprocker has magic ears and needs a brush about once a week at most. Henry's are thick like sponges and longer than his nose! And seem to required daily brushing with a carding brush and a de-knotting comb. Neither of us are very keen on this but at least he gets biscuits for his efforts. ?

Does anyone use a detangler?

 

[Karran]

Touch wood nothing to clean Mrs Spaniel's, never been needed.
She does get horrible mats in her ear hair though and hates me touching them, so I'm guilty of leaving them for the groomer to deal with. ?
Apparently its ok for the groomer to detangle her but not me!

 

[Books'n'dogs]

I have always adopted an as needed approach to cleaning ears. Willow would flap her head when her ears bothered her, Shadow scratches his ears when they need cleaning, and Clover almost never had an issue. I've used various products, some with better success than others; unfortunately my favorite brand went out of business a few years ago.

 

[AmyMay]

So my next pretty inane question is, how do you put drops in the ears of a dog that really doesn’t want you to put drops in their ears??

 

[SOS]

So my not pretty inane question is, how do you put drops in the ears of a dog that really doesn’t want you to put drops in their ears??

Sit/stand behind them so they can’t see you approaching. A volunteer with a treat can be helpful. Then gently handle the ear and give the drops. I sympathise as dogs find ear problems generally very painful for so become very adverse to handling of them. Practising giving drops when you’re not giving drops (I.e the act of lifting ear, putting bottle near and asking them to wait /massaging ear) can be useful desensitisation.

As for general ear health. Leave alone unless advised otherwise by your vet, never stick anything down it and if you do wish to clean don’t use cleaners that are harsh - some have alcohol in! You may clip the inner pinna (flap).

Bear in mind that if your dogs ear seems infected or inflamed NEVER put anything down them without seeing a vet. There is a small chance their ear drum could be perforated and you could harm it further. Only with an otoscope can you see the ear drum.

 

[skinnydipper]

Cerumen has a function. If there isn't a problem, I would leave well alone.

If there is a problem, as SOS suggests, see vet.

Try to find the cause, food allergies can cause itchy ears.

 

[AmyMay]

Cerumen has a function. If there isn't a problem, I would leave well alone.

If there is a problem, as SOS suggests, see vet.

Try to find the cause, food allergies can cause itchy ears.

She’s seen the vet. So no issues there.

I too have always left ears well alone, with the exception of a quick wipe around with cotton wool every now and again. So it’s reassuring to read that others pretty much do too.

 

[cbmcts]

So my not pretty inane question is, how do you put drops in the ears of a dog that really doesn’t want you to put drops in their ears??

Basket muzzle on - with lots of primula/cream cheese in muzzle - and move fast I routinely crate and muzzle train all my dogs just in case they need vet treatment

 

[Clodagh]

Cerumen has a function. If there isn't a problem, I would leave well alone.

If there is a problem, as SOS suggests, see vet.

Try to find the cause, food allergies can cause itchy ears.

Is cerumen the dark ear wax stuff?
(Sorry AM just borrowing the thread).
When Red came her ears were solid with it, great lumps. I used a generic ear cleaner from the vet every couple of days and got most of it out. Then went down to just sporadic cleaning. She doesn’t shake her head or scratch, they aren’t red or sore. They are still pretty dirty, the cotton wipe is brown when I wipe off excess cleaner. I finally went to the vet last week who said there’s nothing wrong at all. She has given me cleaner and drops which I’m using.
I will keep going for the seven days, she’s back being spayed Friday so they are rechecking. Are you saying (short question!) that excess dirt isn’t always a problem?

 

[skinnydipper]

Cerumen is earwax

ETA Just looked up overproduction of earwax in dogs:

"There are a number of causes of ear wax accumulation in dogs, but by far the most common cause is allergies. Ear mites and ear infections can lead to wax buildup as well."

 

[Clodagh]

Vet said no infection or mites so will see how we go with new food. Ty.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Doing nothing at all has worked well for the Sprocker for 12 years. Henry had an itchy, sore ear not long after he arrived, I assume the stress of moving families let something take hold. I ordered some Stinky Stuff and had the vet incoming to see the horses l anyway so was all prepared to consult if necessary. I ended up wiping his ear with cold green tea while waiting for the Stinky Stuff and never actually needed to open the bottle when it arrived!

Since then we've gone back to doing nothing for all ears and so far so good.

My main issue is trying to keep the knots and tangles down! Honestly, Sprocker has magic ears and needs a brush about once a week at most. Henry's are thick like sponges and longer than his nose! And seem to required daily brushing with a carding brush and a de-knotting comb. Neither of us are very keen on this but at least he gets biscuits for his efforts. ?

Does anyone use a detangler?

I’ve got this, the label says aluminium mane comb. Brilliant on ears.

As I have a carousel of dogs on my knee, I comb ears regularly. I’ve also got a Mars stripping knife. We had a solocomb for my father in law’s springer who wouldn’t tolerate scissors but they never groomed so we did ears when we went up.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Is cerumen the dark ear wax stuff?
(Sorry AM just borrowing the thread).
When Red came her ears were solid with it, great lumps. I used a generic ear cleaner from the vet every couple of days and got most of it out. Then went down to just sporadic cleaning. She doesn’t shake her head or scratch, they aren’t red or sore. They are still pretty dirty, the cotton wipe is brown when I wipe off excess cleaner. I finally went to the vet last week who said there’s nothing wrong at all. She has given me cleaner and drops which I’m using.
I will keep going for the seven days, she’s back being spayed Friday so they are rechecking. Are you saying (short question!) that excess dirt isn’t always a problem?

Some days, you could have grown potatoes in Zak’s ears. They weren’t filthy, but there was a little crevice here and there with dark brown accumulations occasionally. He never had itchiness or wanted to scratch. I know the neighbour used to overfeed treats, we had to be quite firm about what he could have. Whole bonios is a meal, not a treat!

 

[AmyMay]

So my next pretty inane question is, how do you put drops in the ears of a dog that really doesn’t want you to put drops in their ears??

It turns out the answer is sausage ??

 

[Bellasophia]

I clear away all inner ear hair around the ear canal.
If I gave my poodle sausage the pork content would flare his ears..my bet is this is food related..
we can give turkey, chicken to a lesser degree and stay away from pork.….
I use thornit every so often when I pull ear hair..it also kills ear mites..
When I want to do a deep clean I use chlorexyderm ear wash..
After every bath I wipe the ears with cotton pads to remove humidity and check for any ear wax.